South Daytona doctor loses license following investigation

Thursday

Sep 5, 2013 at 7:57 PMSep 5, 2013 at 9:36 PM

A South Daytona doctor’s license was suspended after an investigation revealed he was running an unlicensed pain-management clinic out of his apartment where he liberally prescribed controlled substances and failed to keep adequate patient records, a report shows.

By Katie Kusturakatie.kustura@news-jrnl.com

A South Daytona doctor’s license was suspended after an investigation revealed he was running an unlicensed pain-management clinic out of his apartment where he liberally prescribed controlled substances and failed to keep adequate patient records, a report shows.The Department of Health’s report, filed Thursday, also shows Dr. Michael Morgan Dietch III failed to offer patients other treatment options and didn’t report suspected domestic abuse.Investigators found Dietch, 57, kept “cursory, barely legible patient records in spiral notebooks” that were found scattered throughout his apartment regarding the patients he treated in 2011 and 2012.In these notebooks, investigators found Dietch rarely, if ever, performed physical exams of his patients or noted patients’ symptoms, according to the report. Dietch frequently prescribed patients large doses of methadone, oxycodone and fentanyl, among other medications.Dietch noted he suspected two of his female patients were victims of domestic violence but didn’t contact law enforcement to report his concerns, according to the report.Dietch “cohabitated and engaged in a sexual relationship” with a 27-year-old female patient he began treating in August 2011, according to the report. The following year, Dietch asked the woman to stop abusing drugs, including what he prescribed her, among other requests, to improve their romantic relationship.In June 2012, the woman suffered an overdose from what Dietch had prescribed her, according to the report. Dietch, according to his notebooks, continued to prescribe the woman the medications on which she overdosed.Dietch has 30 days to petition for an appeal, according to the report.